Sharath Kamal reaches semi’s in the WTT contender Doha

Table tennis veteran Sharath Kamal reached the men’s singles medal round of a major championship for the first time on Wednesday, when he advanced to the semifinals of the WTT Contender Doha. He was the tournament’s lone Indian, ranked No. 41, after defeating Tomislav Pucar of Croatia in the first round, 11-8, 11-7, 11-4.

However, Sathiyan and Manika Batra worked well together to reach the mixed doubles final. The world’s seventh-ranked pair defeated Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Ken 3-2. The Croat, who is only one place ahead of Sharath in the world rankings, was unable to cope with the Indian onslaught in the quarterfinals and was prone to errors on the day. He came closest to Sharath in the first game, scoring eight points, and one less in the second. However, in the third race, Sharath jumped out to a big lead and held it throughout to win in style.

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In the semifinals, Sharath will take on Chinese Yuan Licen, who is ranked 264. But it was the same Chinese who accounted for Sathiyan on Monday when he decimated the Indian 11-5, 11-6, 14-12. 

However, Sathiyan and Manika Batra worked well together to reach the mixed doubles final. The world’s seventh-ranked pair defeated Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Ken 3-2. The Croat, who is only one place ahead of Sharath in the world rankings, was unable to cope with the Indian onslaught in the quarterfinals and was prone to errors on the day. He came closest to Sharath in the first game, scoring eight points, and one less in the second. However, in the third race, Sharath jumped out to a big lead and held it throughout to win in style.

They won the match 13-11, 9-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8 after stopping their opponents well short in the crucial fifth game. They will face the top seeded pair from Taipei, Cheng I-Ching and Lin Yun-Ju, in the final on Thursday.

Manika Batra was defeated in the first round of the women’s singles main draw by Chinese Fan Siqi, 7-11, 5-11, 6-11. The Chinese, ranked 81st, proved to be a difficult nut to crack for the 48th ranked Indian. Except for Archana Kamath and Sutirtha Mukherjee, all other women paddlers, including Sreeja Akula, Krittwika Sinha Roy, and Prapti Sen, folded in earlier rounds.